Some universities, municipalities and high-tech companies in Israel are shutting down on Sunday to demand an end to the war in Gaza.
Other employers are staying open but allowing their workers to participate in a general strike issued by groups representing families of the victims of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack.
But Israel’s largest labor coalition is not participating, saying that it sees a strike as unlikely to influence the course of the war or result in the return of the 50 Israeli hostages who remain in Gaza.
Arnon Bar-David, chair of the Histadrut, said he would join the general strike if he thought it could work. “Unfortunately, and even though my heart is bursting with sadness, it has no practical impact,” he said in a statement in Hebrew earlier this week.
The announcement of the strike by a coalition called the October Council came days after the Israeli cabinet approved a plan to take over Gaza City despite warnings from the IDF that expanding its offensive in the enclave would endanger hostages and soldiers.
The planned offensive also drew a demonstration by hundreds of retired air force pilots in Tel Aviv this week.
“Silence enables their sacrifice on the altar of an endless war without purpose or goal,” the Hostage Families Forum said in its call for a strike, according to the New York Times. “This is the time for everyone to join us, across the entire country.”
Several leading universities, including the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Technion Israel Institute of Technology and the Open University issued statements backing the strike, while Tel Aviv University, Ben Gurion University, and Haifa University have previously said they will allow staff to join the strike if they wish.
The strike also received support from 77 local authorities, including Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai, who signed a letter giving their support for “every legal activity that reminds decision-makers that returning the hostages is a supreme national objective,’ according to Ynet. The Israel Airports Authority employees’ union will also allow its workers to take part in the strike.
Although the strike is falling short of the national shutdown its organizers had envisioned, there are still about 200 local demonstrations planned for Sunday, including two major protests planned for Tel Aviv, in the afternoon and evening.
“Go on strike out of solidarity,” Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said in a post on X. “Go on strike because the families have asked, and that’s reason enough. Go on strike because no one has a monopoly on emotions, on mutual responsibility, on Jewish values.”
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